blackstone group

Oct. 7 -- Tony James, president of Blackstone Group LP, discusses financing for leveraged buyouts, President Barack Obama's jobs plan and the millionaires tax proposal.

Two published reports say Bank of America Corp. is in talks with Blackstone Group LP over a possible deal to sell real estate assets previously owned by Merrill Lynch to the private-equity firm.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP has agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in Universal Orlando to Comcast-controlled NBCUniversal for $1.03 billion.

Struggling shopping mall operator Centro Properties Group said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its 588 U.S. malls to New York-based Blackstone Group LP in a deal valued at $9.4 billion.

UPGRADES Citigroup upgrades eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) from Hold to Buy with a $28 price target, citing valuation after the recent sell-off.

Goldman Sachs added The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) to its Conviction Buy List today, its most aggressive rating.

The firm maintained their $14.50 price target. Auriga upgrades JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: JASO) from Hold to Buy and raised their price target from $5.75 to $8.

• Blackstone Group's (NYSE: BX) Pinnacle Brands Corp. is expected to acquire Birds Eye Foods for $1.3 billion the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
  
  Birds Eye Foods is the nation's largest frozen-vegetable company and is majority owned by the private-equity firm Vestar Capital Partners.
  
  The deal could be announced as soon as Thursday. Bird's Eye, which currently carries $700 million in long-term debt, has a dominant market share in the frozen vegetable market, representing 25 percent of total sales in the industry.

Anheuser-Busch InBev sold its theme parks, including SeaWorld in Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa, to private equity firm Blackstone Group for at least $2.3 billion on Wednesday.

A media report says Blackstone Group is looking into buying Anheuser-Busch InBev's theme parks, including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.

The Blackstone Group and Lion Capital, the owners of French soft-drink maker Orangina, are near a deal to sell the company to Suntory of Japan, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook.

UPGRADES: Goldman Sachs upgrades The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) from Neutral to Buy with a $13 price target.

Piper Jaffray upgrades Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) from Neutral to Buy with a $15 price target ahead of its presentation at the Piper Jaffray Consumer conference tomorrow. Click here for more color on the upgrade.

Deutsche Bank upgrades Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG) from Sell to Buy.